Twin Cities IKEA Powers Up Minnesota’s Largest Solar Array

As part of IKEA‘s Solar Panel Initiative, the world’s largest furniture retailer has powered up an enormous photovoltaic array on their Twin Cities store in Bloomington, Minnesota. The array is the largest solar installation in Minnesota, and it will produce enough energy to power 100 homes and displace the CO2 equivalent of 157 cars per year.

In 2010 IKEA announced plans to install solar panels on most of its US stores. With the Minnesota array complete, IKEA has now completed 31 solar projects as part of an ongoing initiative to offset its carbon footprint. The Swedish retailer’s philosophy includes taking responsibility for its environmental impact, stating, “Low prices are the cornerstone of the IKEA vision and our business idea – but not at any price. At the IKEA Group, we believe that taking responsibility for people and the environment is a prerequisite for doing good business.”

The Twin Cities store array covers 142,000 square feet with a total of 4,316 solar panels. IKEA contracted SoCore Energy, one of the largest solar energy developers in the mid-west. “We at IKEA believe in the never-ending job of improving the sustainability of our day-to-day business,” said Bloomington store manager James Organ. “The Twin Cities coworkers are excited to contribute to this goal with our newly operational solar panels. We appreciate the support of the City of Bloomington, Xcel Energy and SoCore Energy, our partners in this project.”